Integrated sensor array for analysis of multicomponent gas mixtures

A new device has been proposed and tested experimentally for the discrimination of gases in "electronic nose" systems. The device consists of an array of surface-acoustic wave (SAW) sensors positioned on a single anisotropic substrate with a common gas-sensitive coating for each sensor. The specificity of the sensors is provided entirely by the elastic anisotropy of the single-crystal substrate: changes in the direction of propagation of the wave through the gas-sensitive film deposited on the anisotropic substrate are accompanied by changes in the partial components of the mechanical displacement of the wave and corresponding contributions to the resultant SAW "response." © 1998 American Institute of Physics.